Darren.

Yeah, been very slow today. But at least it isn't freezing out! At least where I live... From experience in the industry, sometimes server or ISP issues are like those whack-a-mole games. Fix a problem, another pops up. I'm sure Glenn's working hard trying to narrow down and fix the cause(s).

Rods: St. Croix, BPS Carbonlite, BPS MicroLite Reels: Shimano Lines: Power Pro Yellow, Super Slick 8 yellow Leaders: Yo-Zuri Hybrid, Gamma Edge, P-Line Floroclear Soft Plastics: Yamamoto, Zoom, Storm, Bass Assassin, Zman, etc. Hooks: Gamakatsu

Welcome aboard, Shane!

Welcome aboard!

Welcome aboard!

Congrats!

Y'all can have the snow. Richmond can have the snow here in VA. Looks like my neck of the woods (Peninsula) will get rain! Fine by me! Not fine by my sons still in school.... I had enough snow for my life when I lived in the Rochester, NY area. No thanks! Driving home on sheets of ice with the sun directly in my eyes! GAH! Nightmares!

Ned rig, baby! And drop shot And wacky rigs, light TX rigs, etc...

I second the craigslist suggestion, as that's probably the most likely place to find a bargain in that price range. One of my sons uses my old 10' Pelican fishing yak, and it works great for him. We picked it up for, I think, $199 at BJs Wholesale Club...Not sure if that was the price, but it was in that range, or maybe it was $350...can't remember! It was/is a fine starter yak for the sport.

Welcome back!

Bills vs. Patriots today. "And Saint Thomas Brady raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O LORD, bless this Thy hand grenade that with it Thou mayest blow Thine enemies the Bills to tiny bits, in Thy mercy." I foresee year 18 of no playoffs...

I believe so. In years past they did carry Daiwa, not sure Dobyns. But the site is a little frustrating, as @OnthePotomac said. Searching it sometimes yields no results tho the products are there.

Lots of brands! St. Croix, Fenwick, Abu, just to name a few. http://www.basspro.com/shop/en/fishing-rods#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&facetLimit:&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&

I'm a Stradic guy. Love 'em, got a mess of 'em. Picking today, money no issue, CI4+.

Welcome aboard! What's your budget?? We can suggest a ton of different rods, and that's exactly what'll happen. Pick something in your budget, get a good feel for it, and upgrade later, IF you need to!!

Welcome aboard! Buy what you can afford now, if you wish to, upgrade later. But I think you can get by with any of those combos starting out for bass. As I've recently begun branching out into saltwater, I can attest that freshwater rods work fine. Just be sure to rinse them off with fresh water when you are done (reels, too).

Not a band, but a singing group...

Der Ned'enmeister! Money rig for me this year!

Site has been good for the most part. Occasional burps in speed/load times...

6, 8, 10 Gamma Edge Like @J Francho, I use my arm(s) to gauge leader length. I'm toying with jumping up in size (one of these days) for saltwater, though thus far, 10 in Gamma, and 10 in Yo-Zuri Hybrid has been enough for 20" striper, etc. Can't wait to find the bigger fishies in the sea

That would probably be an experiment you'll want to try. I remember reading about Gary Yamamoto using something like a 20 foot leader because he wanted to have the leader knot on his reel while fighting a fish close to the boat. I will use arm stretches - one to three hand-to-hand arms stretched away from me...

I'm more with those who say use what you are confident with. Pretty well settled for me (as of now) with Yo-Zuri Hybrid in 6, 8, 10, and Gamma Edge fluoro in 6, 8, 10. Years back I lost confidence in YZH when I had a 10lb leader snap in the middle while I was fighting a lunker. There were no abrasions in the line, it just snapped. Stopped using YZH in favor of P-Line Floroclear (which I still really like). Eventually went back to new spools of YZH and have been good since. And I only use these lines for leader tied to braid. Just how I roll.

Welcome aboard, Charles!

Welcome aboard! I'm a "mostly" spinning guy. Quite proficient at the baitcaster though as I set out a few years back to do everything with my Chronarch 50e reels that I could do on spinning. While I found I actually *could* do most everything, I also realized that it simply wasn't the best tool for all things. I could cast in wind, but it wasn't without plenty of headaches. I could skip, but nowhere near how easy it was with spinning gear. Among other things, I decided to downscale to one casting outfit and stick with spinning as main gear.

Welcome aboard! As said, ice fishing proves it ain't over! That said, if you are not quite into that sorta thing (I'm not), then yeah, it might be over. In my neck of the woods (mid-Atlantic), it is never quite over. And I've "discovered" the joy of striper fishing in the creeks locally, and the York River, so my fishing has been expanded!